Ball of rice
by micahskitty
Summary: [OneShot] Just a cute, fluffy piece about a shorttempered orange and a ball of rice! Can there ever be space for onigiri in a fruits basket? Ask Kyo!


A nifty idea that came to me from a conversation with Shien. I hope this counts for a medal!

He stood in the kitchen with his back to the rest of the occupants in the Sohma household. A rumbling erupted from his stomach as he tended to the task at hand. His hands moved swiftly, caressing the object gently as he molded it to fit his idea of perfection. Slender fingers formed the shape of the thing before him, as a set of curious eyes watched him from behind.

"Kyo-kun?" The female asked tenatively, taking a hesitant step in the direction of the teenager. "Would you like me to help you?"

The orange-haired boy twitched, hearing her voice call out above the distractions running through his head. He shook his head rapidly, "Nah. Go on Tohru. I can mange." Kyo cringed, hating how harsh he sounded but offered no explanation to the girl.

Giving Kyo an odd look, Tohru titled her head to the side curious as to what held Kyo's attention so. Usually, he avoided the kitchen as Tohru had meals prepared beforehand. And any food that was left over was stored in the refrigerator, yet Kyo stood at the counter top, clearly messing with something in his hands. "If you say so, Kyo-kun." Giving him a small wave, the petite figure retreated back into the living room.

The cat of the zodiac heaved a sigh as he continued working on the little ball before him, creating something else entirely. He had one been informed, by his inspiration, that he was good at this craft. Of course, he had scoffed at the idea. What did it matter that he was capable of such things? But tonight, his little talent had proven to be worthwhile.

Earlier that night, Tohru had confided in him, revealing the secrets as to why she felt so close to Kisa. She told him of the game they played while in school, where everyone would be named a fruit while she was an onigiri-- a rice ball. Of course, in a basket of fruits, there was no room for a little ball of rice, and as such Tohru was never called upon. Instead she sat in that chair with a simple smile, waiting on someone to take notice of the tiny girl perched on the wooden piece of furniture.

In a fit of anger, Kyo had punched a nearby wall, startling Tohru. Having mistook why he did such, Tohru panicked and changed the subject to something more easy-- School. This only served to piss Kyo off more, as he was determined to show Tohru he would call her, he'd choose the ball of rice over the bunch of lousy fruit everyday.

When Tohru entered the kitchen to prepare dinner-- Miso, his favorite--, Kyo began to form an idea to show what he was trying to put into words, but couldn't. He'd create something that would convey the feelings, that sense of belonging that he felt when it came to Tohru. When dinner finished the idea struck. He even helped Tohru clean up the dishes in order to get her out of the kitchen sooner.

"He'd better not burn my house down," Shigure called nonchantly from the nearby room, just loud enough for Kyo to hear him.

"Aw, shut your muzzle, damn dog." Kyo called back, just to show that he heard Shigure but didn't bother to say much more for all of his attention was on the creation, on his masterpiece, on the thing that would do what he could not. Tell her the _truth!_

Shigure sniggered, and Tohru rose worriedly to her feet once more. Casting a look towards Kyo, she frowned, thinking to herself, _Whatever could be so important to keep Kyo-kun so occupied? In the kitchen, nonetheless. I know he can cook, but I cooked him already. Maybe he didn't like the food! Maybe I made it wrong!_ Panicked now, Tohru went to the kitchen once more.

With a bowed head, Tohru mumbled, "Kyo-kun, I'm so sorry if I made the miso taste bad! I didn't mean to. Should I fix you something else? Maybe something better?"

Kyo spun away from the counter, giving Tohru a quizzical look. "Nn? No, Tohru, dinner was fine. Honest. I'm just doing something... For...school. Yeah, school. Big assignment. I'll take care of it." Giving her a brief smile, he turned once more to the center of his focus.

Smiling, knowing that she did nothing to displease Kyo, Tohru padded back towards the main area of the house to be in the company of the others in the household. Moments later, she watched Kyo slip out of the house with not so much a look to any of those gathered in that area. Yuki frowned, staring at the door. He knew that Kyo was lying about the assignment, he just didn't know what Kyo was up to nor did he really care. Shigure sniggered once more but Tohru didn't hear his perverted comment as she was on her foot and moving towards the kitchen once more.

Her gaze darted about, but soon went towards the counter that Kyo had stood in front of. There she spotted a slip of paper with the simple word 'Roof' written on it. Clenching the scrap bit between her fingers, she soon went out the door. Shigure laughed as he watched Yuki once more, uttering yet another comment that earned him a smack.

Kyo waited, certain that Tohru would get the message in no time, and sure enough she did. Laying back on the roof, carefulyl balancing the something on his stomach he watched the girl climb the ladder. "Hey."

With a smile, Tohru sat next to him, studying him with bright eyes in the darkness. "Hello Kyo-kun. Something wrong?"

Sitting up, Kyo shook his head and muttered one word. "Onigiri." Tohru stared blankly as he grinned, "Onigiri." He murmured once more, retrieving the object from his lap and holding it out for Tohru.

It was a riceball, one handmade by Kyo. However this one differed from the usual for cared in the rice, by Kyo's fingers, was a heart and the name Tohru. A giggle fell from her lips as she stared at the gift. "Oh, Kyo-kun." She mumbled softly, feeling tears falling down her cheek.

Kyo was immediatly on edge, flushing crimson as he watched the tears fall. "What's wrong? Do you not like it? Did something hurt you? Sitting on a nail, maybe?"

"No, it's just-- This is so sweet." More tears came from the girl, "I always wanted someone to call me. I kept waiting on someone to say it, just once. Kyo-kun... This is... The best thing anyone has given me, and in this past year with the Sohma family I've been given so much. Thank you."

Relieved, Kyo lay back down once more, but positioned so his head lay atop Tohru's legs as both stared lazily at one another. Moving his hands to behind his head, his elbow accidently nudged Tohru's side. The random prod caused the girl to give a yelp, releasing her grip on the rice ball which then landed on the face of the orange-haired Sohma.

Kyo flushed and Tohru giggled, wiping the bits of rice from Kyo's hair and face as he mumbled a profanity or two. Kyo sat up, wiping furiously at his face to remove the rice particles from his face along with the contents of the ball.

"You missed some," Tohru said, pointing towards a spot on his face. Kyo scrubbed at that part, desperatly trying to remove the food. "Nope, not there, there." She giggled, moving close to Kyo to help him remove the rice. "No, wait, there's some right here... Let me get it." Without another word, the shy girl was pressing her lips against his as she blushed a bright red. "I think I got it." She squeaked, pulling away from Kyo.

A smirk passed over Kyo's lips, as his hand grabbed her thin wrist and tugged her towards him. "Nope, there's some right here." Gently, slowly, cautiously, he kissed her awaiting the stiffen of her back, or the tension, but felt nothing more than Tohru responding.

"Orange," Tohru chirped happily.

Poking her side, Kyo responded. "Onigiri!" Laughing as she squeaked at the poke, he added, "My onigiri!"

**Finito! That's all folks. Just a short, sappy, oneshot. Of course, there's no definate answer to the future of those two. This story allows the reader to decide if they are "togther" or not! -winks- A cliffhanger, but not. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to let me know if you did or didn't!**


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